I Finally Got a Dining Room Table

I forgot to tell you the best part about my weekend – I FINALLY GOT A DINING ROOM TABLE!

Each room in my house is themed, because I am a huge nerd like that. My living room is Southeast Asian-inspired (filled with my souvenirs from Thailand + China + Laos); my bathroom is beachy with lots of washed out colors (think greens, pinks, yellows); and my dining room is going to be straight out of France!

Starting with an actual Provencal French tablecloth an exchange student gave my parents when he stayed with us…

With a side of an Henri Matisse print + Pumpkin Oats…naturally. ***Note: The theme of my kitchen + bedroom is TBD.

On a related note, Mama Pea challenged me to a Moroccan Stew Throwdown…Bobby Flay-style. Ya know what I say to that? Peas bring it on!

Afternoon snack was a cup of Ghirardelli Hot Chocolate. I think I made the mistake of making it with water instead of milk. And you thought my mistake was having it in a Green Bay Correctional Institution mug. Oh how wrong you were.

After getting in late to work because of an eye appointment (more on that in a bit), I also left a wee bit early for my 2nd day at the new part-time gig. Of course, I needed a dinner that was portable and delish:

Apple Cinnamon Go Go Squeez: All you cinnamonfiends out there, this IS the applesauce for you.
It is uber-cinnamony, and DELICIOUS. I ate this one first, and it’s going to be hard to beat.

Apple Peach Go Go Squeez: Another good flavor. However, I ate it after the cinnamon,
and although it was good, it stood no chance to be quite honest. The peach flavor was perfect though –
identifiable without being overwhelming.

Speaking of applesauce…you have until Tuesday morning at 8am to enter my giveaway to win some of your own Go Go Squeez applesauce (5 boxes of 4 packets of each flavor).

After working for about 3 hours, I am now home, munching on carrots + PB and realizing I still have a bit left to accomplish before I can go to bed. Before I go, I wanted to mention I went to the eye doctor this morning. I have been suffering from really bad migraines for the past couple months (not good when you are a blogger – hello!), and I am getting new glasses! So, sorry for lack of commenting/reading/responding to all your wonderful e-mails – the nighttime seems to especially aggravate my poor head (which it is doing right now). Hopefully I shall be seeing clearer than ever by the end of the week!

Anybody out there have good tips for food photos when the lighting is crappy? The past week of rain + minimal sunlight at night and in the morning is killing me!

Aside from investing in a photo studio with umbrellas, studio lighting and several assistants…you could try getting one of those twisty bedside lamps and put your food underneath it? Macgyver might use a flashlight off a white wall to brighten things up!

yay for tables! I actually have no tables in my apartment, only tops of dressers and bookcases. Seeing as I usually eat lying on the floor, this hasn’t been an issue… Double yay for new glasses! My mom works at an eyewear boutique so thanks to her I have a major glasses/sunglasses obsession and I actually have a separate basket full of them.

LOL Holly you ARE me. When my parents decided to purchase a beach house while I was in middle school, I seized the opportunity to come up with a decorating plan for each room. You guessed it–each one had a “theme.” LOVE IT.
Also love your lunch–major yums there!

i feel your pain on the crappily lit photos. freaking winter in the upper midwest. and to think it will only get worse in a week with the big daylight savings switch. booooo! aside from jumping ship to a warmer climate, i don’t know what to do either,

You’re post about a dining room table is reminiscent of one of mine from about 4 weeks ago. Yes, for the last FIVE years my husband and child and I had been eating on our laps on our couch. Moved into new house over labor day and finally got a table. And I love it too :) I hope you love yours! Cant wait to see pics!

I get migraines too, and they suck!!! I’m so sorry, and I hope that you are feeling better by the end of the week! As for bad lighting, I have no clue. Sometimes, I have to hold my food up to one of our track lights. Or I have to use the dreaded flash. It depends on the lighting. No tips!

Did you get that Moroccan stew recipe from Clean Eating Magazine? It looks so familiar!!

Ah, okay now I understand where my random craving for veggie stew came from. I knew I saw this on someone’s page ealier and I have been looking for the recipe ever since! Yay, so happy it was you!! :) I am totally making this next week.

I have themes in my house too: kitchen=make food, living room=couch where I eat food, bedroom=place I sleep until I wake up to make and eat food. But I do feel super fancy when I eat at my dining room table :) It’s super nice and came with the house, but if it didn’t, I’m pretty sure I still wouldn’t have one!

Yay for dining room table! I <3 Matisse and a couple of his prints up in my place too :)

I hear ya on the crappy lighting! It's both dark now at breakfast and dinner for me, and the lights in my apartment suck. In my old place, I always took photos under my oven light, but I don't have that here.

I dig the provencal theme. Provence is definitely one of my favorite places to visit(especially for the food!)
When I need to use flash, I back up and zoom as much as possible, and go in and play with it in Windows Pictures

hooray for grown-up furniture! and girl, i know ALL about headaches + computers + eye issues. i have to wear contacts + reading glasses at the ripe old age of 25, but they help! hope you feel better soon :-) Nothin’ worse than headaches and nausea when you’re trying to catch up on google reader.

I love that you have themes – that is so great! I have been having major problems with pictures too recently, partly due to the fact it has been cloudy, partly it is always dark whenever I’m at home :( depressing.

oh my gosh i love how your rooms are themed! that makes so much sense. you HAVE to do a vlog of you house. it is necessary now that you have revealed your themey nature. oh i do love me some cinnamon! i will have to be on the lookout for that stuff!!

ugh, my office has the worst lighting. florescent lights are no bueno for food blogging. no advice from me senorita.